Notebook: Obinna Nwobodo Still Feels Fresh and Is Ready to Take on Next Challenge with FC Cincinnati

Sports stats



MLS FC Cincinnati

Notebook: Obinna Nwobodo Still Feels Fresh and Is Ready to Take on Next Challenge with FC Cincinnati

May 22, 2025 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


Last week, FC Cincinnati extended one of the cornerstones of its club to a long-term contract as Obinna Nwobodo agreed to a deal that kept him in Orange and Blue through the 2027 MLS season with an option for 2028. Nwobodo, 28, has been a core member of the squad since joining the club in 2022 and, even by his own recognition, says he can't believe how quick his time has gone by and that signing a new deal for the club defied perhaps his own expectations of when he first joined.

"For me, it means a lot because I have not played this amount on one team before. This is the first time, and I feel comfortable, I feel at home, I feel fresh," Nwobodo said of signing his new contract. "That is why I'm able to say that I can keep going, because if I don't feel fresh, I don't have a new mentality, I wouldn't be comfortable renewing my contract. But I feel like I'm just arriving now. So it feels good for me and my family."

Nwobodo has made 118 appearances for the club since joining on a permanent transfer from Turkish club Göztepe SK and has been a key element in the club's success since he arrived; FC Cincinnati has earned more points than any other club in the league with 205. But for the Nigerian midfielder, being nomadic has been part of the bargain of being a pro athlete. Moving from place to place as he grew is just part of life. Prior to his arrival in Cincy, Nwobodo played for four clubs, jumping from Nigeria to Hungary and then to Turkey, all staying less than three years before his next move.

Part of that was his own personal growth, with him becoming a better, more mature player; new teams in bigger leagues kept calling for him. But that was also a byproduct of him searching out new challenges and not becoming comfortable in a new place if he felt he had already reached his goals.

"I feel I always have good motivation here. I feel like this is something I want to continue doing. I feel fresh. I feel like a new person every (season), even if I am not," Nwobodo said with a laugh. "I didn't even remember that I've been here for almost four years. So it's something good for me. I don't feel like I've overstayed my welcome, I still feel fresh. I have guys here that are working with me, and they always help me have good motivation every time, and that helps me to focus."

"I think the mentality of the team is that we want to win every time we have so much, they still want to achieve.You can see it with the transfers, with the way the team wants to play. So this is something I feel. Because, if I'm playing in a team and I'm not comfortable - maybe the mentality is down, or there's no more motivation - then it feels like, yeah, it's time to go. But when you're playing somewhere where you see that every year they are making new plans in order to win, they're making new plans in order to keep the team at a good level. This is good. This is good for the kind of person I am, because I always want to challenge myself, and I'm glad that this team is also a team that challenges you, and they're trying to compete. They are not just participating. They compete in the league, and this is what I want. I feel comfortable being part of it."

The role Nwobodo plays on the field as one of the most dominant defensive midfielders in Major League Soccer has helped carve out a role for FCC as one of the more effective teams on defense in the league. FCC's ability to ice out opposing offenses with impunity has given them the winning edge that won them a Supporters' Shield in 2023 and has kept them competing in the years since.

However, the place Nwobodo has grown most in his time with the club, perhaps, is in his skills as a leader. Since arriving, Nwobodo's professionalism and work ethic have been a standard bearer for the team. Still, his role as a vocal leader and reference point for younger or new players has also improved as Nwobodo became more ingrained in the club's cultural fabric. Three times, Nwobodo has been selected to captain the squad. Still, in so many other instances, he has been a leader for the team in formal ways, including taking the armband mid-match or giving pregame team talks when the moment called for it.

"I think that's kind of who he is. Every time he steps on the field for training, for games, he gives everything," FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said of Nwobodo after learning the midfielder said he felt 'fresh' in signing his contract extension. "Obi is hungry to help our club win trophies, and so that's, I think, what's always going to keep him fresh."

A "Continuous Journey" for Miazga

Back from a traumatic injury sustained nearly a year ago, Matt Miazga had his longest appearance yet this weekend against the Columbus Crew in the first playing of Hell is Real this season. The 2023 MLS Defender of the Year went 84 minutes before exiting for Teenage Hadebe, up from 69 minutes and 63 minutes in his previous two longest starts.

The return for Miazga has been long and deliberate, as the American Center Back will have made seven appearances at the very least before playing a full 90 minutes in a match. That said, getting to 84 minutes, particularly in the intense environment a match like Hell is Real provides, is certainly a sign he is nearly ready to make that full appearance.

That said, a part of his return to action (Miazga has disclosed) is that in addition to regaining his fitness over time, a part of his recovery involves improving his performance and feeling more like himself. Simply having the fitness to compete for 90 minutes is a baseline for him; returning to his prior quality is part of the next stage of his recovery.

"It's a continuous journey," Miazga shared on Sunday after a match with NYCFC on May 4th, his then-longest appearance of the season at 69 minutes. "I've got to keep improving my fitness levels and just sharpness as well. I'm my biggest critic. So I know that there's always room for improvement and there's still a way to go in terms of getting to my best."

In the due process of recovery, which lasted about 301 days between match appearances, Miazga shared that it was only in the final stages of returning to play that he was able to start thinking about the "soccer" side of things. But now that he is back, he says he can focus more on his performance on the field rather than his recovery in the training room.

"That's why I kind of took my time with it. I wanted to come back feeling like myself again," Miazga explained as to his approach to returning to action. "That was the whole purpose of making sure that the rehab is precise, is well thought out, and I took my time with it. So that when I do come back, I'm myself again. I'm 100% and working towards that. I don't want to come back, you know, 80 or 90 percent, I want to be closer to 100. So I feel like I'm there."

Check out the FC Cincinnati Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from May 22, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central